Automated testing methodologies are becoming increasingly important as the complexity of embedded systems in mobile vehicles grows. In addition, the need for validation of these systems against various functional and design requirements is critical to the proper operation of these systems. Consequently, the time and resources required to validate these embedded systems has increased.
To reduce the time and resources required for validation, certain obstacles need to be overcome. Manual testing procedures utilize human interfaces to the mobile vehicle and embedded module. Significant manpower is required to execute these tests and document the results obtained. Efforts to automate various aspects of the testing process have reduced the manpower and time required for testing but further action is needed to increase efficiency and further reduce the resources consumed. To further automate testing, a set of software interfaces must be designed to simulate the human interfaces they replace.
Manually created test plans are comprised of a list of instructions that a person conducting the test must follow. The challenge is to design a machine readable test plan format while still maintaining a test plan that is human readable. To fully automate the test plan execution, a common format must be defined that is capable of being parsed by a software-based execution engine. Human readable text is generally not conducive as input to an automated process. Syntax and context must be controlled to allow the execution engine to properly read the test plan input and then direct that input to the proper interface.
Testing of embedded modules is driven directly from requirements specified by original equipment manufacturers and embedded module developers. Requirements documents are reviewed and test plans are developed to test against those requirements. Each plan tends to be unique and a limited use of standard testing modules is employed. Without a common user interface linked to a requirements database, linking the test plan directly to the requirements and utilizing reusable testing modules is difficult to implement.
Version control is another function that is difficult to accomplish without the availability of automated systems to track the various versions of requirements documents, test plans and test results. The use of version control assures that the applicable test results are tied to the version of the requirements used to develop the test plan.
It is therefore desirable to provide a method and system for verifying an embedded module of a mobile vehicle that overcomes the limitations, challenges, and obstacles described above.